Back to Eden Gardening

[ninnymary]

Bee, I am just so happy for you! You are accomplishing so much. I wished I lived closer to you so that I could be helping you. Instead all I can do is pray for you. You are such an inspiration.

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Praying for me IS helping me! More than in any other way, Miss Mary! Thank you for your kindness! I've decided to give it over to God and let this anxiety go about getting this garden in...if He wants me to have a garden, it will be planted on time and produce something. If His will is otherwise, I'm okay with that too. Finally, I gave it over and have peace like a river today.

Don't know why I don't do that sooner, but each time it seems like I forget to let God have my worries until I finally remember how bad worrying feels...THEN I give them over and get peace from it all. I wish my memory wasn't so bad! Maybe your prayers were instrumental in the Holy Spirit getting my attention and telling me to "simmer down!".

 

[Beekissed]

Prayers are working!!! We had a good, soaking rain last night that softened the soil enough to work in and this garden is slowly, but surely, getting into the ground. Today should do it and most of everything will have been planted except for succession plantings of lettuces, spinach, carrots and such like. Those will come later on as the garden grows and I tuck them in here and there around the other plants.

Putting in rhubarb, chives, asparagus, cukes, squash, snap peas, cilantro, carrots, sweet and hot peppers, broccoli, onions, lettuce, radishes, parsley, celery and anything else I can put in the empty spaces...probably calendula and other flower seeds. Will also place hay flakes around the edges of the garden fence where grass is already poking through these poor quality chips....I piled them thick there but they are such big pieces they let the light in anyway.

I am breathing prayers of thankfulness to the Lord for getting all this in, because I cannot move on this season until this is done. Having a big project hanging over my head bothers me subconsciously...just a niggling feeling at the back of my mind that never goes away until it's done.

After the main planting, I can get down to many other small projects demanding attention this season~firewood(not a small project, though), getting mulch hay and chips in order to maintain this garden as weed free, getting loads of manure, cleaning out and organizing storage areas, getting ready for canning, getting Mom's flowers lined out and growing, getting Mom to appointments for dentistry, hearing, burial plans, etc.

 

[ninnymary]

You're getting a lot done Beekissed. I love your energy and attitude!

Mary

 

[Beekissed]

Thank you, Miss Mary! By God's grace alone, I tell ya, because it's a pure miracle that my back has lasted this long on this many back intensive chores in a stretch. Today it finally gave up the ghost and put itself on light duty only.

Most everything is in the garden except for a few short rows of salad things and other things I will tuck in here and there where there's plenty of space.

For this I am truly grateful! Now I can move on to other things that need my attention, as well as just maintaining the thin cover of these chips in some way until I can get a supply of chips from somewhere. Until then I'm going to supplement around the edges and in bare spots with mulch hay and saw dust...those are things I CAN get easily.

Will take a weekly pic of the garden as it grows to document the BTE method for anyone who's interested and describe any problems I encounter.

Just doing general clean up chores now of putting away tools, mounting an old mailbox on one of the posts so I can store my seeds, hand tools and mater ties out of the wet, making some handles out of a branch and bailing twine for the gates, nailing up wooden stops on the gateposts so the gates will not overswing, cleaning up all the trays from seedlings, etc.

Now comes the waiting and watching over the seedlings. Found a tomato volunteer up by the chicken coop when I was pulling a few weeds (HUGE dandelion plants the like of which I have never seen~one was 3 ft tall and 2ft wide at the base~ sucking off the nutrients at the base of this coop!!!) around the coop. It was the exact same size and appearance of those I started inside, which leads me to believe my idea of planting tomato seeds in the fall for a spring showing isn't such a bad idea.

I dug it up and planted it in the garden...will be keeping an eye on how it produces and all. It had the same tiny bug damage as mine in the garden, so it isn't the chips that harbored the predators...that's a relief! I have a healthy crop of flea beetles attacking my tomatoes this year....have applied some lime and will monitor the results.

 

[Smart Red]

Please take care of yourself and give your back healing time. You have been so inspirational this spring. Praying you get back to full back use quickly and full larders this harvest season.

 

[Beekissed]

Awwwww, thank you, Red!!! All these prayers are much appreciated, for the garden and for my back! I really want this method to work and make raising food here less labor intensive as Mom and I age. It remains to be seen if that will be true.

 

[baymule]

I hate it when I have to lay up due to something dumb on my part. Couple weeks ago, tripped over the dog in the kitchen, slammed my back on the end of the counter, then splattered on the floor. I was so mad, I KNEW the dog was there, was all my fault. The dumb part was putting up over 400' of non climb horse wire the next 2 days. But I had help and gotta get with it when I have help. Then I sprawled out in my recliner for 4 days. LOL

So, I kinda know where you're coming from. At least you are showing much better sense than I did. Take it easy, rest up and let it heal.

 

[Beekissed]

As my mother says "it will be your master"....no matter how much I think I can do with this back, in the end it always tells me when and what I can no longer do. I don't particular like that part of my life, as I used to be strong as an ox in my youth and I really used that part of my physique to the max, not knowing that one day it cause this much damage.

I guess this is the new normal and I'm still getting used to it. But, His grace is sufficient for me....I will not regret this infirmity.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

[Beekissed]

Got back from a trip across the state for a couple of days, found we had gotten a few good rains and the garden looks GREAT. The lime I had spread on the tomatoes and various places was washed into the soil, as well as the epsom salts I had spread in the maters and peppers....they already look darker green and the tomatoes had grown a couple of inches in just that many days.

I was tickled pink!!! The corn is up, the wildflowers are up, the radishes, some lettuce, etc. have popped up....garden season has officially BEGUN!

I've had many good ideas on collecting things for this deep litter garden, among them grass clippings, leaves, sawdust and mulch hay....all things I can get easier than I can find wood chips, so this year will be spent gathering such things and building this garden up.

This week I'm building on this hugel bed for Mom's flowers and it too will be using a lot of things not traditionally used to fill a raised bed. We'll be placing wood ashes in the bottom...they are old and already leached out well by the rains and snows of winter, but they should make for some good filler in this bed. Also will be splitting some punky, rotten aspen wood and placing in the bottom, there to absorb and store moisture and compost. Collected newspapers will go in, along with composted horse manure, finally bagged soil mixed with some sand, then potting soil.

Can't wait to get it done and planted with perennials and annuals....can't wait to see how it looks and performs.